Category Archives: Networking

Spring is fast approaching, and it brings with it a season of local and national trade shows for businesses like yours and ours. Trade shows often serve as a launch pad for new business enterprises and the proverbial “bread and butter” for existing enterprises to grow. However, trade show participation often come at high costs for registration fees, promotional items, travel, labor and other expenses. This might put some small businesses at risk of not getting a good return on investment (ROI).

We are excited to offer you the top ten researched-backed trade show tactics to help you get the best ROI from trade show participation. Let’s begin with the most obvious:

Nail First Impressions

Studies show that your first impression has a high impact on the actual long-term status of your relationship.[i] First impressions are even more important at trade shows because attendees are flooded with information about dozens of companies and its crucial that you and your business stand out.

In reality, you only have about 10 seconds to capture the attention of people passing by before they become uninterested in what you’re selling. — Rachael Sprung, HubSpot

To draw people in to your booth make sure your exhibit visually stands out, even if you have a limited budget. Utilize colors, large signs, banners, and make the most of your branded materials or incorporate inventive technology to make your set up more appealing and interesting. It is also important to create unique and interesting content to draw people in and then have that content lead to a sale. Finally, refine your elevator pitch; make sure it communicates who you are, what you do, and what makes you unique quickly and effectively.

Engage Employees in All Aspects of the Show

Employees are part of your brand, so it is wise to utilize them as marketing tools for your business throughout the show. Some creative ways to include employees into your trade show display would be to have them disguised as show attendees interacting with your booth, creating an internal sales competition, and having an employee be a featured speaker.

Have employees dressed as show attendees and surround your booth to create the illusion of a crowd to draw other attendees. This works because social proof generates trust. When onlookers see others interacting with your brand they will wonder what the buzz is about and want to find out for themselves. If you utilize employees in this way be sure that you have sufficient employees working the booth to engage onlookers.

Create an internal sales competition. Have your best sales people on the floor and make it a competition among them as to who can generate the most leads or close the most deals. This will motivate employees to put in extra effort and make the most of the show.

Have a team member speak at the show. This proves that your presence has been vetted by the event planning committee in charge of the tradeshow.[ii] Having an employee speak at the show gives your brand visibility and validity with show attendee. Nothing builds trust faster than teaching something of value without asking for anything in return. Attendees with have a favorable view of your business if they gain something beneficial from your organization without having to give anything for it.

Extend Your Reach With Inventive Promotional Items

Promotional items are extensions of your brand. Having promotional giveaways that are easily visible are simple ways to get people talking about your booth. Go beyond a branded stress ball and create unique promotional items to stand out from other businesses. Another way to maximize the benefit of promotional items is to turn it into a game. For example, those who wear items or sign up for your mailing list have a chance to win something big at the end. Creating a game gets people interested in your booth and excited at the change of winning something, while promoting your brand and generating warm sales leads.

Identify Companies That Will Be In Attendance and Leverage Your Research

Go through the attendee list in advance and identify potential customers and prospects. If the event is more intimate, you can conduct a competitive analysis on the attending companies competitors so that you have the ability to, on a more personal level, show companies how they will be able to use your product to compete with their competitors.[iii] For example, Hubspot has a free tool, ‘Marketing Grader’, which can be used to grade the marketing programs of companies that will be in attendance. A leaderboard can be created to show top-ranked companies and be displayed on a screen at the event booth.

This allows you to make targeted communications and have prepared information to be more effective in communicating the ways you can improve the business of prospective clients.

Schedule Pre-Show Booth Meetings with Potential Customers

Reach out to attendees 4-6 weeks prior to the show and set up meetings at your booth before the show starts. Reach out with personalized messages for each potential client.

Make it about networking, not selling. Learn about what they do, do not make it about what you do. The focus in these meetings should be to create relationships, not sell products. Creating a personal relationship with potential clients before trying to make a sale will make an eventual deal go more smoothly.

Utilize the Experience and Resources of Other Companies

Your biggest resource before and at a trade show is other companies. There is much to learn from companies that have been successful and those that have failed. Trade leads and contact information with brands selling different products and services with the same target market as you. This is a way to instantly double sales opportunities; this gives you the most ability to affect your ROI for the show.

Before creating booth materials and while planning for the show, research successful trade show leaders and adjust your strategy. Take time to look into tips and tricks from organizations that have been very successful at trade shows. Explore other trade show booths and learn how they are marketing their products and services and ask or observe to determine if they are effective or not.

Have Interactive Elements

Adding unconventional elements to your booth will generate interest and give attendees a better understanding of your value proposition. Anything that distances your booth from traditional trade show booths will benefit your businesses performance at the show. Incorporating touch screens is a helpful tool to increase engagement because it gives those interacting with your booth more to do than listen to your employees sales pitch.

Bring Your Best Clients to the Show

Create repeat business by buying a ticket for some of your best clients. It is easier to get more business from an established client than it is to obtain a new customer, so inviting existing clients to the show is a way to maintain your relationship. A strong relationship with a prior client will make them an additional evangelist of your brand to help you secure new business as well.

Stop Selling, Focus on Networking

Creating relationships first, before trying to make a sale, will be better for your business in the long run. Having an established relationship will make finalizing a deal later on much easier.

Ask questions about others first before attempting to sell your product or service. It is more natural flowing when you ask someone about their company and where they come from first, because they will likely ask about you in return.

Build relationships; ask questions about their business and themselves. Find common interests. Networking is more beneficial to your business than giving a sales pitch to every show attendee you interact with. Creating relationships will lead to more business long-term and leave attendees with a more favorable view of your company.

Follow Up ASAP

After the show, contact leads as soon as possible so they do not forget about you. Typically, wait one day after the show to follow up with prospects. Follow up with any items you told customers or prospects you would send them upon return to the office.

Following up soon after the show is important because once prospects get back to ‘real life’ they will begin to forget the impression you made on them at the show and the conversations you had.

Check out this mockup of the new business cards we designed for Dr. Tess of Beverly Hills. Dr. Tess is now ready to network with the celebrities and upper class Beverly Hills clients to promote her Aesthetic & Medical Services. She will boast unique design with a custom stock that is unlike any other!

A good business card is like a firm handshake. It tells a lot about who you are, what you represent and what you are worth. You are worth more than what’s in your bank account or what assets you have. Who you know adds to your net worth. You want to know ambitious people like you. Connected people who can take you further. Higher. But you have to impress them first.. We can help you impress your customers with a professionally designed business card and avoid the embarrassment of handing them a design that they may find familiar with Vistaprint’s millions of other customers. Be one in a million – and not customer number 1,947,2??

You’re more valuable to us than that. Start networking your net worth.

We Will Help Make It Easy & Affordable

B-EZ Graphix will offer give our subscribers like you the first chance to get $50 off of a Two-Sided Business Card Design Package + 250 prints for only $99 until August 1st.

Get an additional $50 off when you bundle it with a Logo Design Package for a total investment of $249 for Logo + Business Card + 250 prints.

Whether you are trying to raise money for your business/organization or just want to perfect your business strategy, a solid “elevator pitch” is an essential tool for achieving your goals. An elevator pitch should be delivered in 60 seconds or less or as a one page overview of your business. Think of your elevator pitch as a verbal executive summary that gives a quick overview of your business and details of why it’s going to be successful.

One of the key things your pitch should include is how your business is going to solve a problem. If your business does not address a problem, it is not a viable business venture. My recommendation is to strive to resolve the “W5H” questions that I typically ask during new client consultations.

If you can answer as many of these questions as you can within 30 seconds, you will likely impress many people at networking event, secure new customers and develop successful partnerships. But, it does end there. You must practice what you pitch. Here are some ways to do that:

Be Prepared

This is a three-fold process: do your research, build a brand, and rehearse your pitch. Before you develop and verbalize your pitch, it is important to do your research to determine how you can answer the W5H questions to give the best first impression.

Then build a brand that visually represents and communicates your business idea. Why hook them on the pitch when you don’t have a logo, business card or website to reel them in?

Now, that you’ve done your homework and have lead capturing brand materials, you should practice giving pitch. Entertain your friends and family with your pitch bloopers of verbal pauses and mispronunciations. Record yourself on audio or video (the video can also be used later for marketing your brand). Rehearse until you are comfortable pitching with few mistakes to both very important individuals and large audiences.

Be Consistent

One of the worst worst things you could do for your brand is give an elevator pitch that you cannot validate. If you pitch that your cleaning service passes 100% of home inspections, it would be in your best interest to ensure that it never drops to 99%. This emphasizes the importance of making realistic projections about your brand. It is also very helpful to collect testimonials that validate the consistency your brand’s reputation.

Be Easy

When you are prepared with a good elevator pitch and have a track record of valid and consistent customer satisfaction with your brand, you obtain a high level of confidence in your brand. This confidence impacts the way you deliver your pitch. It should become so second nature and easy to execute that you impress your audience by the articulation just as much as the content. After all, shouldn’t marketing your business be easy?

It takes time, commitment and effort to develop and deliver a great elevator pitch. It should sound the same every time you give it. People should remember how and what you say in your elevator pitch. Most importantly, your work should reflect what you say in your pitch. Don’t forget that you are your brand. Become known for keeping your word. Follow Rule 3 and Practice What You Pitch. #MakeYourself

It’s that time of year again! And B-EZ Graphix is always excited to give back.

Check out some of the events, programs and organizations we are sponsoring this season.

We truly hope that you can find it in your heart to find ways to give to them as well.

Since we, unfortunately could, not secure sponsors for our 10th Anniversary event last month, benefitting the Alzheimer’s Association of Georgia (@ALZGA), we have decide to increase our pledge to give 10% of our sales this month to @ALZGA. Especially since November is National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month and National Caregiver Month. Every little bit counts.

Every little bit counts. Please, take a moment to click the links below, give back and #BeBlessed!

The Shark Tank Social is for the Chicago professional who may have an invention, intentions to audition or simply loves Shark Tank!

Official Anais PR seeks to connect those around Chicago-land who watch the show anxiously every Friday and would like to have dialogue surrounding entrepreneurship, small business funding, pitching and much more.

Learn about how to properly position yourself as an author, public speaker, product marketer as well as branding strategies.

The Tech Talk Edition will focus on the importance of technology awareness, the integration of social media and technology in digital marketing/public relations as well as the basic steps to starting a business with employees.

Official Anais PR’s Annual Christmas Toy Drive – Chicago, IL

Do you know of a deserving single mother who has been working tirelessly to make ends meet? A mother attending school, working two jobs and trying to raise her children the best way possible? In 500 words or less send us an email with why you feel she should be a recipient of this year for Official Anais PR’s 5th Annual Toy Drive. Do you work with a Non-for-Profit that serves children in need? Would you like your organization to be considered as a recipient for this year’s Toy Drive? Email us your organization NAME, LOCATION, WEBSITE and MISSION statement, social media handles as well as why you feel you deserve assistance this year.

Wooohooo!!! 10 years in business and still going strong!

We have accomplished a major milestone to have grown and developed in such a way since our founding in 2004. The story of B-EZ Graphix is so unique and deep. We have made great strides to have something meaningful to offer to our clients and market. I am excited to tell the story for the first time:

In the beginning…

…Just kidding 🙂

I pledged Iota Phi Theta Fraternity (IPT) at the University of IL at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in the Spring of 2004. I received my first crash course on Adobe Photoshop CS3 later that year by my fraternity brother, Cleveland, to design flyers for our organization’s events. Around this time, my family experienced some financial hardships and I was pretty much on my own in college. I began working over 80 hours per week, and heavily involved in publicity work for IPT. It wasn’t long until my grades suffered and I my enrollment was suspended from UIUC. After moving out the dorms and out the frat house in 2005, I was pretty much homeless for the first half of the Summer.

But, soon other organizations began to notice my natural artistic skill in designing marketing materials. I began making $25 here and there for a design until by 3 degrees of separation, I was connected to Steve, an event promoter in Champaign, IL. He was so impressed with my work, that he hired me under contract and paid me a few hundred a week to design all his promotional and marketing material. The ability to stay encouraged through my difficulties and maintain my professionalism and work ethic prompted the nickname that Steve gave me….B-EZ. Through his connections, I picked up new clients in the local community, mainly consisting of “mom and pop” shops. The work I did for them gave them hope that they could recover their business and grow. The enthusiasm that they all shared inspired me to make the work I do into more than a hobby. And on October 25, 2004, B-EZ Graphix was founded. I know it is an unconventional business name, but it means something to me. And my goal is to have it mean something to clients as well.

10th Anniversary Flyer

Can’t wait to get started at Aloft ATL

Me and the Jedi Apprentice, Amber Wheeler

Collipark Music’s Mr. Hanky and I

Patrick Hector of Hector Distribution and I

Me and Kendra Cherie

Me and Syd of PEEG

After 10 years, we are continuing the same mission to make the brand development and marketing process easy and affordable for small business, non-profit organizations and minority businesses. We have developed and leveraged lasting and meaningful partnerships and built hundreds of successful brands. We are still growing and our focus in the coming years is to continue to grow by adding to our team in order to increase our reach and capacity. I am very grateful to those who have contributed to the growth of B-EZ Graphix, to include my family, my colleagues Vau’ve Davis of Official Anais PR and TJ Jefferson of Fresh Touch Publicity and my Amber Wheeler, my Jedi Apprentice (lol) who has put up with me for over 2 years now. It won’t be long now. Just stay tuned and connected and you will soon see new and exciting developments with B-EZ Graphix.

Warner Robins, Ga.- Air Force Veteran Brian Wyatt, owner of B-EZ Graphix, needs help from the community as he vies for a $150,000 small business grant through Chase Bank’s “Mission Main Street Grants” online campaign. He only needs 250 votes by Oct. 17 to be eligible for the next round of getting his business plan viewed by a panel of judges such as actor/entrepreneur Nick Cannon and co-host of ABC’s “The Chew” Carla Hall.

Last month, after five and a half years, Wyatt completed his enlistment as a Senior Airman in the 461 Air Control Wing of the Robins Air Force Base and was awarded the Air Force Sergeants Association’s Regional “Airman of the Year” in 2013 among competitors in 12 southern states. He has been a freelance graphic/web designer for 10 years, working with the Macon Indoor Flea Market locally and other clients in Atlanta, Chicago, and Memphis, Tenn. Wyatt submitted his application to use the $150,000 grant money to expand his staff, purchase office space and upgrade technology.

“B-EZ Graphix has revolutionized the way we communicate with our members,” said Juan F. Garcia, President of the Middle Georgia Chapter of the Air Force Sergeants Association. “The newsletter and web design has streamlined and made passing information to our members and social media followers faster and kept every member more informed than ever before. No other chapter website has come close to what we have been able to accomplish.”

B-EZ Graphix is very involved in the community by offering complimentary services to local organizations like the Ruth Hartley Mosley Women’s Center of Macon, Ga. and provided free logo designs, highly discounted business card and website design services to non-profit organizations in Georgia and beyond. In the month of October, a portion of proceeds from B-EZ Graphix will be donated to the Georgia Alzheimer’s Association. Also, B-EZ Graphix has sponsored and donated to events like the Champaign-Urbana Day Fashion and Talent Show in Central Illinois, toy drive in Wyatt’s hometown of Chicago, and The Simply Giving Project in Memphis, Tenn.

“No other agency is reaching out to help these organizations the way we are,” Wyatt said. “We make their grassroots marketing efforts easy and effective by refining their professional image into a visual brand that grabs people’s attention. This grant will help extend our reach.”

The primary mission of B-EZ Graphix is to encourage entrepreneurship by making the marketing and brand development process easy and affordable for start-ups, non-profit organizations and minority-owned businesses. These organizations represent an “untapped” market that larger marketing agencies tend to ignore for larger, more established and profitable enterprises. B-EZ Graphix accomplishes this by working closely with clients to design and develop their brand products, such as logos, websites, business cards and much more. Additionally, B-EZ Graphix supports the re-branding and strategic marketing efforts of established enterprises by providing a cost-effective option to outsource their needs.

The story of Ruth Hartley Mosley is a fascinating one. Her contributions to Middle Georgia and the Civil Rights Movement are invaluable. She was a very successful business woman and leader in community service. Not unlike my great-grandmother, Addie L. Wyatt, who is one of my greatest personal inspirations. Ruth left her home in the trust of the local community to serve as a Women’s Center and a resource for educational development. I visited the center to speak with the Executive Director, Gerri McCord, and see how me and B-EZ Graphix can contribute to the Ruth Hartley Mosley Women’s Center (RHMWC).

It was inspiring to learn that Ms. McCord retired into the position of serving as the Executive Director and practically volunteers her time and energy into serving the community from there. She has gone to great length to establish some powerful partnerships and leverage community initiatives to keep the RHMWC standing. She took the time to share her vision with me as well as the areas of need that the RHMWC has to fill in order to achieve those goals. Unfortunately, Ms. McCord’s many attempts to find good help to renovate and raise awareness of the RHMWC have not been very fruitful. The RHMWC has been the victim of a great deal of sub-par services to include work in renovations and in communications. There is a lot of work that needs to be done in the house and the connectivity int he media center is poor impacting its ability to be used by the local community.

Come on man! You must put in a more effort for a place this meaningful to the community.

I specialized in Information Technology and Communications during my career in the military. So, on an impulse I volunteered to help Ms. McCord get the media center back up and running. I also offered a FREE logo package to replace the impractical and unimpressive logo that the previous designer made for her. I figure that would at least get them off to a good start. I will also make moves to get Ms. McCord some fresh new business cards that will inspire anyone she hands them to, as well as a new better looking website that will be easier to find on the web. My spirit will not allow me to permit such a historic treasure in the community to continue to be ignored and unnoticed. I will also pool my resources to coordinate some volunteers to come and help do some handy work around the house as well to help save the center some money in renovations. These are just small things that entrepreneurs can do to give back to the community that gives to us. I’m certain that Ms. McCord’s gratitude will not end with a simple “thank you.” I strongly believe that even if I don’t reap rewards for my contributions in referrals and resources to help my business grow, I will receive them in Heaven. I can live with that.

I founded B-EZ Graphix in October of 2004 simply to give a name to the business I had been conducting as a freelance graphic and web designer in Central Illinois. I made a little money providing an affordable design solution for local businesses. But, it wasn’t my primary source of income (I was a chef). Rather, I considered design to be a lucrative hobby that helped me financially sustain myself through college. At that time, I would not have bet that it would become my way of life. Nearly 10 years later as my military career comes to a close, I am embarking on a risky adventure to operate B-EZ Graphix full time and work solely for myself. I am taking charge of my own destiny. And I am happy to share my new beginnings with each of you.

Naturally, I have many apprehensions about embarking on this quest to realize my success. But, I have faith in God, in myself and, most importantly, in the purpose of what I do. I think the people in my network can see that in the way that I speak and carry myself. Confidence is hard to hide. And I believe it showed tonight as I attended a Networking Mixer in Macon, Georgia. It was hosted by the Macon-Middle Georgia Black Pages (MGBP). I introduced myself to Mr. Alex Habersham, the Publisher of MGBP, the week prior and I believe he observed my confidence as well. He invited me to the mixer and to meet with him about opportunities to work with MGBP. Just before the networking mixer began, I handed him a written proposal about how we can leverage each other and we carried on with plans to meet the next day. The mixer itself was one of the best I’ve ever attended. It occurs every second Tuesday at Overtyme in Macon, GA. There were over 60 attendees in the building all at once, and ever more that came in and out. It became evident that there is a large B2B market for me here in Middle Georgia that I should leverage as I explore new beginnings for B-EZ Graphix.

To my surprise, a brief 5 second introduction of myself and B-EZ Graphix (courtesy of Mr. Marc Parham of CAPBuilder Network) had dozens of people searching the room for me to get my business card and network with me. I must admit, I was taken back because that negated any fears I had left about becoming a fully committed entrepreneur. I even won a door prize! I am now more excited than ever to move forward with my commitment and leverage my new network in Middle Georgia to expand B-EZ Graphix and advance its mission. I will continue blogging to share my progress with my fellow entrepreneurs and small businesses in hopes that one day you’ll realize that you are just as capable. Until then, be easy, be blessed and be loved!

One of the initial challenges that entrepreneurs, new and small businesses face is determining how to compete with larger enterprises with greater resources. The most highly rated approached to overcome these challenges is to offer exceptional services. Again, this may seem difficult with limited resources. However, small businesses have the ability to offer something that large competitors cannot – personal attention. The ability to offer individual attention and personal service to customers weighs heavily on the likelihood of generating brand loyalty and developing a persistent consumer base. However, it alone is not a key to success for entrepreneurs.

For example, while consulting with a new client, I learned that she was becoming very discouraged by all her efforts to market her salon despite all her efforts. She had hosted events, offered incentive discounts and invested in SEO services to get her salon greater visibility and generate leads. She had estimated that if she can get people through the doors of her salon, she was confident that she could provide the personal experience that would keep them coming back and referring friends. But, she was missing some key elements to her marketing and branding efforts. Her salon did not have a logo, her website was a bit unorganized and unimpressive and her social media accounts presented conflicting information and brand design elements. In essence, her brand lack the credibility that a logo and a consistent brand presence provides.

The lesson learned here is that while personal services offer a strategic advantage of operating a small business, it is ineffective if you do not couple it with a credible brand. One must choose carefully when to execute marketing and branding strategies. In this case, it is important to secure a consistent brand and niche first. Afterward, that personal touch will make all the difference when competing in markets with larger enterprises.

To my new followers, my name is Brian K. Wyatt Jr., Founder and Creative Director of B-EZ Graphix, Inc. I come to you with over 9 years of experience in graphic design, web design and strategic marketing. If you can imagine, my business has undergone many transformations over the years. Rebranding a company is hard – many have tried and most fail for various reasons. A successful rebranding campaign requires much more than a new look and logo. Although we do hope you enjoy our new look, it is most important to us that you have the most productive and enjoyable experience with our staff and services. It is our every intention to show that our rebranding comes with more than just a new aesthetic.

Rebranding has become something of a fad at the turn of the millennium. In many instances, rebranding is done to shed a negative image. We assure you, that is not the case with B-EZ Graphix. Our efforts to rebrand are done for the same reason reptiles shed skin – growth. To differentiate ourselves from our competitors, we wanted to show the fruits of our growth – new and improved skill sets, currency in design trends and styles, powerful network and inspiring partnerships. Consider the way Target rebranded in order to differentiate itself from low-brow stores like Wal-Mart and K-Mart, by including pared down versions of designer apparel. In this way, we are finding new ways to stand out. In addition, we wish to make our business identity and mission more pronounced:

B-EZ Graphix is veteran-owned, freelance graphic design, web design and marketing agency. Our mission is to encourage entrepreneurship by simplifying the marketing and brand development process for start up business and organizations. In addition, we support the rebranding and strategic marketing efforts of established enterprises.

Our identity and mission brings us closer to our clients and our target market. We seek to capitalize on this new disposition by enhancing our connections and creating the most positive customer experience for our clients. The rebranding campaign of Old Spice is an illustrative example of what I mean. Whereas, Old Spice, once a brand many associated with their grandfather’s deodorant, now has a fresh identity following clever marketing of a manly “experience” and smart use of social media to connect with their consumers – all done without changing their logo. Old Spice has reaped the benefits of evoking the social connotations of “swagger” as opposed to just simply charisma…Although, I’m sure former NFL player Isaiah Mustafa’s influence on wives and girlfriends was also very encouraging.

So as we finalize our latest rebranding campaign, we encourage you all to take advantage of our design and marketing services, provide feedback and assist us with ensure we offer the best services at the most reasonable rates. Moreover, we encourage other entrepreneurs to also consider a robust rebranding campaign if you have been in business for a considerable amount of time and feel that you are falling out of touch with your target market. In conclusion, I hope that this blog post makes it clear why we chose to rebrand. We look forward to serving you and showing you the difference.